Ministry requesting tax exemption for baby seat

PUTRAJAYA: The Transport Ministry will request the government that tax exemption be given for import duty and Goods and Services Tax for child car seats.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said, the tax exemption are among the many wishlist of Budget 2017 by the ministry to be submitted to the Finance Ministry before the tabling of the budget next month.

Currently, child car seats are being imposed with GST together with import tax duty of up to 30%. The item is categorised as car accessories under HS 9401.2 coding by Customs Department. However, not all imported child seats are imposed with the high tax structure.

“For example, if we sourced it from China, there won’t be any import tax duty due to Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta). But if it’s non-Afta deal, it is 30% tax duty,” said a local supplier in Klang Valley.

JPJ director -general, Datuk Arifin Che Mat said most R44-certified child seats available in the market are imported items.

He emphasized that there is contact with local distributors and car manufacturers over the past few months on how they can reduce the price for child car seats.

It is noted that the Transport Ministry will embark on a year-long safety campaign by the end of November to encourage parents to install the Child Restraining System (CRS) ahead of the ministry’s plan to enforce it by 2019.